EVENT: Through the Broken Lens
July, 2026
On 24 June 2026 in Poljčane, Slovenia, the event Through the Broken Lens brought together documentary film, academic research, art and personal experience to open a dialogue about some of the difficult questions at the heart of the EU-GlobalAct Jean Monnet Module: What makes individuals vulnerable to radicalization? How do trauma, exclusion and experiences of injustice shape the search for belonging and meaning? And why can similar experiences of adversity lead some people towards destructive pathways, while others transform them into creativity, connection and new possibilities?
At the centre of the evening was the first public screening of the documentary Through the Broken Lens: A Story of Trauma, Extremism, and the Possibility of Healing, created by Assist. Prof. Janja Mikulan. Through the life stories of former fighters in Lebanon, the film explores the complex intersections of trauma, radicalization, belonging, violence and the possibility of personal change.
Following the screening, Mikulan presented key findings from her research in Lebanon and Palestine and introduced the work and objectives of the EU-GlobalAct Jean Monnet Module – EU as a Global Actor in a Fragmented and Traumatized World. The discussion highlighted the importance of moving beyond simplified explanations of radicalization that focus exclusively on ideology or individual pathology. Trauma can also be collective, continuous and deeply political, shaped by armed conflict, displacement, poverty, humiliation, insecurity, institutional abandonment and the disruption of social worlds.
The evening demonstrated why such questions cannot be addressed through academic research alone. Art provided another language through which experiences of vulnerability, loss and transformation could be approached. Jana Fak's illustration The Future Is Bright offered a particularly powerful visual message: a crack does not necessarily represent only rupture or destruction. It can also become an opening through which a different perspective – and perhaps a different future – becomes possible.
The setting itself reinforced this message. An old farm, carefully restored and given new life, became a meeting place for research, art and honest human conversation. Artistic installations created by Boštjan Polanec, director of the DANUBIA Institute, further explored themes of burden, memory, transformation and regeneration.
Most importantly, the documentary did not mark the conclusion of the evening. When the film ended, the dialogue began. Participants reflected on how easily people can be reduced to their actions, political positions or wounds, and why understanding the social and biographical contexts behind them is essential if societies want to strengthen resilience, prevent radicalization and create meaningful possibilities for change.
This dialogue closely reflects the broader mission of EU-GlobalAct: to examine the European Union's role in an increasingly fragmented world while bringing questions of trauma, resilience, radicalization, community and social cohesion into discussions about contemporary European and global challenges.
The event was organized by the DANUBIA Institute in cooperation with the School of Advanced Social Studies (FUDŠ) and Živo Gnezdo, with the participation of Jana Fak, Peter Sovič and all those who contributed their perspectives to the discussion.